The following recommended books are available for purchase, through assocation with AmazonBooks.com

The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel : An Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship by Andrew Wilson-Dickson. Fortress Press, 1997.

This overview of the history of music in the church is beautifully laid-out, with graphics, charts, short articles, and fascinating sidebars that make it both an informative resource, and an appealing 'coffee table' book.
Wilson-Dickson concludes his narrative by looking ahead to what the future may hold for music in the church.
(More books on History of Church Music)

Blended Worship: Achieving Substance and Relevance in Worship by Robert Webber, Hendrikson Publishers, 1996.

"Blended Worship examines the wide array of worship styles, from traditional to contemporary, currently in practice in today's churches. Webber explores how all churches can benefit from a blending of these various styles, to achieve a meaningful and renewing worship experience. Liturgy, responsive readings, folk songs, hymns, liturgical dance, hand clapping, passing the peace of Christ, banners, drama - all of these can be effective ways to express and enter into the worship of God."
(More books by Robert Webber)

Enter His Courts With Praise!: Old Testament Worship for the New Testament Church by Andrew E. Hill. Second edition, Baker Book House, 1997.
Overviews of "OT worship" tend either to be dry and impractical, or to jump to "applications" that have little basis in Scripture. Hill's book demonstrates that neither of these is necessary. Hill makes his careful study useful with clear summaries, helpful charts, and thougtful, practical "applications." If you can only buy one study of OT worship, this is the one.

Worship Evangelism:Inviting Unbelievers into the Presence of God by Sally Morgenthaler, Zondervan, 1995.

"With hands-on strategies, for 'worship that witnesses,' Morgenthaler shows. . . how to achieve worship that's both culturally relevant and authentic. In three parts, the book:

• tells what worship is and how it attracts non-Christians to Christ.
• tears down the walls that keep unbelievers from meeting God in church worship.
• shows how to make worship evangelism happen--in any culture." (from the jacket)

The New Worship:Straight Talk on Music and the Church by Barry Liesch. Baker Book House, 1996, updated 2001.
Check out the table of contents

The author has made a Power Point slide presentation for each chapter of the book. The whole set may be downloaded for free from his site.
If you already have the PowerPoint viewer, here is a sample of Liesch's presentation. (At the end of the presentation, please use the "back" button on your browser to return to this page.)
If you need the PowerPoint viewer, download it here for free!

Liesch has also written a shareware tutorial, The New Worship Musician: Making Praise Flow, to help musicians learn how to modulate and improvise. (For a discussion of "free-flowing" worship, see Chapter five of The New Worship.)
(More books on Updating Worship)

More books on Worship